Thursday, March 22, 2012

35: CITY CREEK CENTER GALA and the WORD OF WISDOM

Last night, a lucky few made a charitable donation to get a sneak preview before the official grand opening of the LDS City Creek Center today. Exactly 2,000 people paid for the privilege to be the first patrons at downtown's most high-profile mixed-use development. Tickets cost 50.00. Dress attire was formal and you had to be an adult (over 21) because beer and wine were served in certain areas of the new mall.

I did not purchase a ticket.. but was given one by a hostess. Here are a few pictures from the evening. A temple recommend would not get you in to the event, but it could have been taken away if you partook of the things that were offered.

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The below picture is at the entrance to the City Creek Center.

The sign to the left in small print says:

TONIGHT ONLY!

6:30 - 9:30 p.m.

CLUB CITY CREEK

ENJOY BEER, WINE, SOFT DRINKS,

and hors d'oeuvres, desserts, and COFFEE.

Level one, Nordstrom block, south of the fountains.

The above picture is of a lady handing me a drink. Don't worry though, it is Apple Beer. I think this substitute drink was offered to those who wanted to look like the rest but could still answer the temple recommend questions with the correct answer.

Sidenote: I wonder who Isaiah was talking about in Isaiah 28. .

"The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet."

"But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment."

We don't talk much about these verses in Gospel Doctrine class. We have the promise that we can't be led astray by our leaders. They could never err in vision, nor would they stumble in judgement.. Obviously Isaiah must be referring to a different religion who have priests and a prophet....and not us.

Second, what is a church doing embracing mammon when it should be in the business of bringing souls to Christ? When Jesus walked the earth, all the signs point to Him being poor - and he hung out with the poor much more than with the wealthy.

Third: you got me curious because I had heard much about the cost ranging from 1.5 to 5 billion.

This is what I came up with in my research:

This shopping, office and residential center encompass nearly 20 acres (8.1 ha) of downtown Salt Lake City.[1] The City Creek Center is part of an estimated $5 billion[2] sustainable design project to revitalize downtown Salt Lake City.[3] The City Creek Center project itself has been estimated to cost around $1.5 billion.[4]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Creek_Center

City Creek Center, a $2 billion development housing a high-end shopping mall, opened in Salt Lake City just a few short weeks agohttp://www.examiner.com/article/aveda-experience-center-to-open-at-city-creek

Elder Oaks, who practiced and taught law in Chicago and later served as a justice of the Utah Supreme Court, said he was thrilled to learn Kirton McConkie would occupy the lone office building constructed as part of City Creek Center, the $1.5 billion mixed-use development of the LDS Church and partner Taubman Centers Inc.http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865553960/Elder-Dallin-H-Oaks-dedicates-new-home-of-Utahs-largest-law-firm.html

multi-billion-dollar investment by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for City Creek Center in Salt Lake City.http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20120407/NEWS01/204070329/Candidates-debate-governor-s-policies?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

On Thursday morning, City Creek Center, the first indoor mall built in nearly three years, opened its doors to the public. Its owner is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which hopes that the $1.5 billion temple of consumption will redeem Salt Lake City's blighted downtown, where the Church is also headquartered.

The 700,000-square-foot mall certainly gives off a Biblical air. According to its website, City Creek has two 18-foot waterfalls, fountains that shoot water and bursts of flame while playing synchronized music . . . .http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/city-creek-mormon-mall_n_1372695.html

The above site also mentions the church owninghunting groundsradio stationsnewspapersinsurance companies$1 billion for profit cattle and citrus ranch

The Mormon Church committed its members monies to redeveloping Salt Lake City with a downtown mall that had an original budget of 300 million. In fact, a similar Mall was built for around that amount just South of Salt Lake City. The City Creek Mall now is expected to cost anywhere from 4-8 billion dollars. Its final appraised value will be closer to the 300 million dollar mark.http://www.moneyteachers.org/citycreekcenter.html

Interesting that the above source states that, in spite of billions being spent, the appraised value will be only in the millions.

$5-8 billion dollar Mormon Luxury Mall that was originally budgeted at $300- 500 million before the project was down-scaled.http://pauldrockton.com/Meeple.html

First, I'm not sure Paul Drockton is a credible source. I saw nowhere where he got his figures, and he conflicts with all else I have found (moneyteachers is also Paul Drockton). I did see some evidence that the mall cost $3 billion to $5 billion a month or so ago, but I am unable to find those sources now. It could be that they were lumping the whole city creek project together, though.

Also, calling someone a moron, and making a charge without backing up your charge does not add to intelligent, informed conversation. It is very possible for people to disagree without resorting to name-calling and other childish behaviors.

Okay, I made a post before the one above in reply to crap-ola Anonymous. Blogger, is it stuck in your spam folder? It had many links in it (to show my sources), and blogspot could have earmarked it as spam. If you will retrieve it and post it, I would be very appreciative.

I find it interesting that church employees would feel just fine adding sleeves to the angel's robes in a lovely, innocent Carl Bloch painting, while the advertising for City Creek is often sleeveless and low-cut. {Shakes head}